Zidane’s son retires at 29 and the rise and rise of Marcelo’s son at Real Madrid

Zidane’s son retires at 29 and the rise and rise of Marcelo’s son at Real Madrid

Football star Enzo Zidane has retired from professional football at the age of 29 and will focus on his family and other investments.

The eldest of Zinedine Zidane’s four sons, all of who have passed through Real Madrid’s academy, enjoyed a decade-long career but has decided to call time on it, as per Diario AS.

Zidane was most recently at Fuenlabrada, where he made 29 appearances and was involved in five goals, but after spending last season without a team, has decided to hang up his boots.

He made 203 appearances, scoring 13 goals and assisting 24 times, in a career that took him through Real Madrid Castilla, the senior side at Real Madrid, Alaves, Lausanne, Rayo Majadahonda, Aves, Almeria and Rodez Aveyron before finishing in the satellite town of Madrid, Fuenlabrada.

Enzo made one appearance for the Real Madrid senior team and scored on his debut during his 45 minutes against Cultural Leonesa in a 6-1 Copa del Rey run. Currently, Luca Zidane is at Eibar as a starting goalkeeper, Theo Zidane is playing in midfield for third-tier Cordoba, and Elyaz Zidane moved to join the Real Betis academy this summer, but is a France under-17 international.

At just 15, Enzo Alves has been promoted to Madrid’s Under-17s squad and has even played for the Under-18s.

Enzo Alves, the 15-year-old son of Real Madrid legend Marcelo Vieira, is causing huge excitement with his performances for Los Blancos’ youth teams.

Although his father left Madrid in 2022 and has now returned to his native Brazil to play his club football, Alves has remained in the Spanish capital. Marcelo was never in any doubt that his son should learn his trade in Madrid’s academy - known as ‘La Fábrica’, or ‘the Factory’ - even if it meant living on different continents.

A physically imposing forward who is a composed finisher, Alves has established himself as a regular in Spain’s age-group sides, having so far decided to represent the country of his birth rather than Brazil.

He has four goals in five caps for the Spanish Under-15s - and, ever since he joined Madrid’s youth set-up in 2017, he has caught the eye with his rate of development.

Earlier month, indeed, Alves was promoted to Madrid’s Under-17s squad for the rest of the season, even though, at his age, he would normally be playing for the Under-16s.

Moreover, the forward has even been given a taste of playing for the Under-18s, making his debut for the side last weekend. He is expected to be increasingly involved with Julián López de Lerma’s team throughout the campaign.

Within the club, Alves is considered one of Los Blancos’ most promising prospects; so much so that he’s being groomed for a potential first-team breakthrough at some point in the future.

Although Madrid’s youth chiefs are mindful that they shouldn’t rush his development, they plan to include him in the club’s Under-19s squad next year, at the age of just 16.